Braxton Bragg (March 22, 1817 – September 27, 1876) was an American military officer during the Second Seminole War and Mexican–American War. He later served as a Confederate general in the American Civil War, seeing action in the Western Theater. His most important role was the commander of the Army of Mississippi, later renamed the Army of Tennessee, from June 1862 until December 1863.
Bragg, a native of Warrenton, North Carolina, was educated at West Point and became an artillery officer. He served in Florida and then received three brevet promotions for distinguished service in the Mexican–American War, most notably the Battle of Buena Vista. He resigned from the U.S. Army in 1856 to become a sugar plantation owner in Louisiana.